Celebrate Star Trek's 50th Anniversary With a Documentary About Preserving the Enterprise

Now that the original model is restored and back on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, the whole process is going to get the small screen treatment. The Smithsonian Channel is going to air a two-hour special called Building Star Trek on September 4, just four days before the actual, literal 50th anniversary of Star Trek.

The special isn’t just going to cover the restoration of the original model of the Enterprise, but also the work being done at Seattle’s EMP Museum to rebuild the 1960s bridge set using original set pieces and props. A third component is the ever-present reminder that Star Trek’s technology is an influence on current science. The show will talk to scientists and engineers about the work they do that can be tied to Star Trek. [For those outside the US without access to The Smithsonian Channel, many of its full features are put onto its YouTube channel, so bookmark this link and keep your eyes peeled for it's YouTube debut.]